Sorry for the late chapter. I was finishing off my other story. As always, thank you for the review, favorites, and follows. Keep up the feedback. It helps me write a stronger story.

Now, to the chapter.

Chapter 29: Magnius the Pyroclasm

Now that the Ranch was in high alert, every hallway turned into a battle for survival. Lloyd quickly found himself overwhelmed by the nonstop waves of Desians who didn't know when to quit.

What was scary was that the majority of the Desian forces were outside fending off the Palmacosta army. What would this place be like if they didn't have the militia backing them up? He had the feeling that most of them would have been dead a long time ago.

He was grateful that Kratos was with them. The man was like an unstoppable one-man army as he plowed through Desians like they were cardboard cutouts. Lloyd was starting to doubt that Kratos actually needed them. He could probably single-handedly go through the entire Ranch with his eyes close. It was unreal just how far above them he was.

"If you're getting tired, you should stay behind me," Kratos advised.

"No, I'm fine," Lloyd said quickly.

"You have to save your strength for Magnius," Kratos said as he took out another Desian. "If you push yourself too hard now, you will only endanger the others."

Lloyd knew that Kratos, once again, spoke the truth.

Other than Kratos and him, there were no other close-ranged fighters. Genis and Raine would get slaughter on the front line and Colette couldn't hold her own in close quarters for long. It was up to him to protect them just in case something happened to Kratos that prevented him from saving them. He couldn't depend on this man's power forever.

"Gotcha, Kratos," Lloyd said as he took a more supportive role as Kratos lead the way.

"I wonder why Chocolat wasn't in the holding cell with the other prisoners?" Colette finally asked once the wave of fighting has ceased for the moment.

"I was wondering that too," Raine said in thought. "Maybe since she was a lure for you, Magnius is keeping her personally."

"I wouldn't put it pass him," Kratos stated.

Lloyd slammed his fist into a nearby wall. "That means he could use her as a shield."

"I highly doubt that," Kratos said in a neutral voice. "Magnius is many things, but he sees himself as a true warrior. His code would never allow him to use a human, an inferior being, as a shield."

Raine raised an eyebrow. "You know that much about him?"

"Since I have traveled around the world I know a bit about all the Desian Grand Cardinals," Kratos answered. "Most are rumors, but I found most of my information to have some truth."

"Well, that's good news," Colette said happily.

Lloyd looked at Kratos curiously. From what Kratos told him last night, was he collecting information about the Grand Cardinals so he could kill them? He couldn't blame the man since he would do the same if he had the patient and strength.

"But he must have something plan for her," Genis said worriedly.

"We'll deal with it once we reach that point," Kratos said as he looked over the group. "Break's over."

They were on the move again, but they quickly noticed that the waves of Desians had all but ceased. They ran into a few groups, but they weren't the big numbers they encounter earlier. Lloyd suspected that the Palmacosta militia was giving the Desians more of a fight then they bargained for so they had to send more units to deal with them.

They soon came to a warp and within minutes they were transported to another level of the Ranch.

"Lloyd, look!" Genis exclaimed when he saw two Desians guarding Chocolat. She was locked in chains against a wall and looked like she'd been beating fairly recently. However, she was in much better shaped than Lloyd expected. It seemed she wasn't made to work the fields yet.

Chocolat looked up and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw them. "You guys!"

The Desians guarding her stepped forward with their weapons raised.

"Let her go!" Lloyd growled as he charged the two guards. He was taken off-guard when one of them sidestepped his attack and was ready to bring his sword down on his head.

Kratos moved in at the last second and hit the Desian with his shield before slashing him across his chest. "Don't get reckless."

The second guard was easily defeated by Genis and Colette. He didn't even chance to land a hit on them.

Chocolat was still dumb struck as Lloyd walked over to her and proceeded to pick the lock to her chains. "You...you came to rescue me?"

Colette gave her a bright smile. "Yup. Did they hurt you? Are you okay?"

Once the chains were off, Chocolat rubbed her sore wrists. "I'm fine. Just a little bruised up. I was one of the lucky ones since they didn't send me to work in the yard."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Colette said in relief.

Chocolat slowly looked over all of them. "Chosen One, everybody, thank you all so much."

Lloyd blushed as he looked away from her. "Ah, don't mention it..."

"There is no time to be celebrating," Kratos stated harshly, breaking the mood. "We still need to take care of Magnius."

"You're going to fight the leader of the Ranch!?" Chocolat exclaimed in surprise.

"Assistant Governor-General Neil is taking the people imprisoned here to safety and the militia is holding off the Desian main forces," Raine explained. "Our job is to secure the control room and assure a safe escape."

Chocolat began to smile as tears formed in her eyes. "Dorr finally mobilized his plans, didn't he?"

There was a slight paused before anyone answered.

"Um...uh, yeah," Lloyd answered nervously.

Luckily, Chocolat was too excited to notice Lloyd's hesitation. "I knew this day would come." She shook her head. "I'm not sure if it's in the control room or not, but in the back is a platform that leads to a room filled with sparkling lights and other magical looking things. I'll show you the way."

Raine didn't like the idea of bring Chocolat along. Who knew what dangers lay ahead. But, they needed her help. The longer they took to reach the control room, the more lives that would be lost. "We'd appreciate your help."

Chocolat nodded. "Of course, follow me!"

She led the way through several warps and Lloyd quickly found himself lost as they transported to one room to another. Before Lloyd completely lost his bearing, they were standing in a large room filled with lights. It was very much like the desert Ranch he was taken to back in Triet.

"So this is the control room," Lloyd said in awe.

"So the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin have finally arrived," Magnius' voice echoed through the room.

Kratos' eyes widened. "For...saken?"

What was Magnius talking about? Did he really think that there was an order to kill the Chosen? Even if he was out of the loop at the moment, he knew Mithos would never harm this particular Chosen.

As Kratos was mauling over this new information, Magnius appeared before the group. He was sitting in a chair suspended in midair. He was staring down at them with a cocky grin on his face.

"You got it all mixed up Magnius, you're the one who's forsaken," Lloyd growled as he raised his sword at Magnius' heart. "Your time here is up."

Magnius didn't even blink and stared down at Lloyd like he was some kind of bug that dared crawled on his floor. With a slight hand gesture all the warps in the room lit up and several Desians ran out of each.

"We're surrounded!" Colette gasped. In such a small space, they couldn't defend against so many Desians.

Magnius laughed loudly at them. "Just like a bunch of stupid vermin! I know your every move." He took a smug glanced at Chocolat. "And I know about those inferior beings trying to escape, too."

He pushed a button on his chair and a device lit up in front of the group. It showed an image of Neil leading the prisoners out of the Ranch.

"How did Neil get in there?" Colette asked in confusion.

"That's a projector. A product of magitechnology," Kratos answered absently as he watched the prisoners vain struggled to escape. He was a fool for not considering that Magnius could see through their ploy. There were cameras everywhere.

"It's a device that displays images of people and things that are far away," Raine explained further. Her eyes also never left the projector. "We were displayed on here as well."

Soon, the prisoners reached a narrow hallway and before they knew what was happening the hallway closed on them on both ends.

"Oh no, they're trapped!" Genis exclaimed in horror.

"A wasted effort," Magnius bragged in delight. "Everything you've done was meaningless."

"No, we can rescue everyone after we take care of you!" Lloyd yelled in defiant. He wasn't going to let this bastard win.

Magnius leaned back into his chair and casually tapped his fingers together. The look on his face changed from a cocky arrogance to a strange serene calm. "Big words from someone whose futile actions caused the disaster at Iselia."

Lloyd went paled at the mention of his hometown. How did he know that? "Th...that was..."

Magnius' eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "I know, how about I recreate that incident using the vermin on the projector?"

"What...you wouldn't," Lloyd stuttered as fear gripped his heart.

Magnius' smile got even wider, warming up to the idea. "Watch, I'll unleash their exspheres and turn them into monsters. Then, I will released them upon your precious army."

"No, stop!" Lloyd screamed. He couldn't possibly do something that inhuman.

Kratos' eyes narrowed at how much a sadistic Magnius was being.

Magnius' face took a twisted turn as he grin at the thought of the bloodshed he would soon unleashed. "Countrymen killing one of their own in blind ignorance. There isn't a more beautiful sight or irony. Oh, the look of pitiful horror when they learn the truth sends tingles up my spine."

"You sick bastard!" Genis yelled. He was shaking in pure rage.

"Come on now. I'll be more than happy to turn them into monsters, just like that old lady you killed," Magnius said coldly. He watched Lloyd flinched before he turned his attention back towards Chocolat. "Just like Marble."

Lloyd felt his world fall apart and he thought his knees would collapse from beneath him. He looked towards Chocolat who had a surprise and horrified expression on her face.

"Marble? You don't mean..." Chocolat muttered in disbelief. All the color had drained from her face.

Magnius responded by giving her a small smirk. "Oh, but I do, my little Chocolat. Dear old granny Marble was sent to the Iselia Ranch where she was killed by Lloyd," he spoke as if he was reporting the news. "I heard she met a pitiful end by his hand. He even chopped off her arm before killing her in cold-blood."

Kratos growled at himself.

He should have known Magnius would arm himself with such information. What other reason would he have to kidnap some random tour guide that they had only passing familiarity with. Magnius was also good friends with Forcystus and it only made sense that they would share such information.

Ever since they entered the Ranch, he had underestimated Magnius. He took for granted that Magnius wasn't known for being particularly smart. What he allowed himself to forget was that Magnius could be quite clever if given enough time to plan.

"Wait, it wasn't like that!" Genis exclaimed as he faced a shock Chocolat. "Lloyd tried to save her! But the Desians turned her into a monster and..."

"Lloyd killed her," Magnius concluded for him.

Chocolat stepped away from the young mage. "No..." She moved so far from the group that two of the Desians in the room grabbed her by her arms. Chocolat made no effort to escape.

"Chocolat!" Colette yelled as she ran to help, but she was cut off by several Desians.

"Dammit, let her go!" Lloyd yelled as he prepared to cut through every Desian in the room.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Chocolat screamed at the top of her lungs, stopping Lloyd and Colette in their tracks.

"Chocolat..." Lloyd whispered, his will to fight completely evaporated.

Chocolat's entire body was shaking as sobs wrecked her body. "I...I refuse...to be saved by grandma's murderer! I'D RATHER DIE!"

Magnius laughed out loud at the declaration.

"You mustn't say things like that!" Colette exclaimed, sounding more than a little angry.

Lloyd looked at his childhood friend in surprise. For the first time since he had known her, Colette truly sounded mad. If she were within arm reach of Chocolat, she would probably shake the girl until her brain rattled.

"Don't throw your life away!" Colette yelled.

Chocolat, however, was beyond any of their words or concerns. "...Dorr will save me. Leave me alone!"

By this time, Magnius was laughing so hard that it looked like he was going to fell out of his chair. "Dorr."

Lloyd glared at Magnius, wondering if he was going to reveal Dorr's fate as well.

"Well, whatever," Magnius said in a dismissive tone. As fun as it was to tell her about Dorr, it was better to wait until she got to the other Ranch. That way, she would be hit by the full crushing despair that no one was going to save her and she blew her only chance of salvation. What a stupid woman. "Take her away," he ordered as he waved his hand.

The two Desians that held Chocolat took her through the warp where they all disappeared.

"Stop!" Lloyd screamed. He couldn't let Chocolat go like this. She couldn't damn herself because of her anger towards him. He was cut off, however, by several Desians. "Dammit, get out of my way!"

"Keep your head on," Kratos said calmly. "Magnius would love for you to lose your temper now. That's why he set up everything that has happened."

Magnius' face softened slightly as he looked at Kratos. "So, you really don't know. Regardless, stay out of my way."

Kratos raised his sword. "You know I can't do that."

"You bastard, how could you hurt Chocolat like that!?" Genis demanded.

"Why would a fellow kinsmen care what I do to a bunch of humans?" Magnius asked. The question, interestingly enough, wasn't mocking. He actually sounded confused by Genis' concern.

"You're not our kinsmen!" Raine yelled.

"What are they talking about?" Colette asked.

"Those with elven blood are considered kinsmen to each other," Kratos answered. "Despite the Sages being pureblooded elves, half-elves considered them or any other elf as brothers and sisters."

Raine glanced at Kratos and gave him a grateful smile. She already knew that Kratos knew the truth about them, but he chose to cover their secret. Regardless of how she may feel towards Kratos, she would be in his debt for this.

Magnius gave Kratos a confused look, but decided not to question him, yet. "It's not too late. Join my side and I will spare both of you."

"You actually think we would take your offer?" Genis spat.

Magnius sighed. "I hate to spill the blood of a kinsman, but I will have the Chosen's head this day." He looked towards his men. "Kill her!"

The Desians stepped forward and raised their weapons at Colette.

Lloyd wasted no time running into the fray and gutting the nearest Desians. Before his partner could react, Lloyd cut him across the stomach with his other swords and gave the final blow by slamming the hilt of his sword into the back of the Desian's neck.

Genis was forced to use his novice spells since he was too closed to his friends to use anything more powerful. Colette covered him as he sent wave after wave of Fire Balls and Stone Blast.

Kratos wasted no time slaughtering every Desian in sight, knowing that they had no time to deal with the fodder. Within seconds, the room was cleared, leaving only Magnius to deal with.

"Next time, use stronger soldiers," Kratos said coldly to his underling.

Lloyd approached Magnius. "Come down and face us, coward!"

Magnius chuckled at them. "I hardly have to do anything. I still have those vermin from Palmacosta that can deal with you."

"Don't you dare!" Lloyd yelled.

"Surely you don't fear us, Magnius?" Kratos questioned casually. "What happened to that warrior spirit that you pride yourself of so much? Do you cower before children and their teacher?"

Magnius' eyes narrowed as he glared down at Kratos. This agent from Cruxis maybe his superior, but no one questioned his warrior spirit. "Fine, I'll take care of you myself!" He grabbed his axe, that was somehow hidden behind his chair, and jumped down. When he landed, the entire room shook. "I'll put an end to the Chosen, right along with you fools who can't let go of your human blood!"

With that he charged the group with speed that shouldn't be possible for someone his size. Lloyd barely had time to dodge as the axe was brought down only inches from his head. Magnius did a swift turn and managed to hit Colette's chest.

"Colette!?" Lloyd screamed in horror as blood spilled from the wound.

Raine quickly cast a First Aid, healing the injury.

"Eruption!" Genis yelled as the lava overtook Magnius.

"Not bad," Magnius laughed as he emerged from the magma unharmed. "I didn't think a child like you could do such a powerful spell. Ashamed you dare to defy me."

"It didn't work..." Genis whispered in horror. There wasn't even a burnt mark on him.

"His elemental strength is fire," Kratos warned. "That attack won't work on him."

Genis glared at Kratos. "You could have told me that sooner!"

"Allow me to show you a real fire spell," Magnius said as a red aura surrounded him. "Flame Lance!"

A blade made of pure fire appeared and headed straight towards Genis. Raine at the last second created a barrier around Genis to lessen the blow. However, the spell was still powerful enough to throw Genis back like a toy doll.

Genis laid on the floor in shock of what just happened. "If Raine didn't cover me, that spell would have killed me…."

Lloyd ran in and spun in the air with his swords out. Magnius saw the attack and was able to block every last strike.

"Too slow, boy," Magnius mocked. He was cut off when Kratos suddenly stabbed him through the chest.

"You let your guard down again," Kratos stated coldly.

"You no good vermin!" Magnius spat as he swung his axe at Kratos, who gracefully leapt out of the way.

"Tiger Blade," Lloyd yelled as he launched himself into the air and hit Magnius twice. The cuts were shallow, however, since Magnius was able to back away from most of the attacks.

Magnius responded by grabbing Lloyd by his jacket and lifting him up. "Not good enough." A small explosion suddenly went off in Magnius' hand and Lloyd was thrown back.

"LLOYD!" both Colette and Genis yelled.

Lloyd hit the floor hard and lay there without moving a muscle. Smoke rose from his body and his eyes were blank.

"How did you like my Purgatory Crumble Explosion?" Magnius laughed.

Colette looked ready to run to Lloyd's side before Kratos cut her off. "Let the Professor take care of him. He's after you, remember."

"Exactly," Magnius said as he lit his entire axe on fire. "Not one of you vermin will escape me."

He sprinted and attempted to slice Kratos' head off. Kratos blocked the Grand Cardinal with his shield, but found it quickly overheating from the flaming weapon. Colette threw her chakrams at him, but Magnius took each blow without bothering to move.

"It'll take more than those baby's hits to stop me," Magnius sneered as he brought his axe down further.

Kratos was having a hard time keeping his ground. At this moment, Magnius was much stronger than him. He may have no choice but to tap deeper into his Cruxis Crystal.

"Aqua Laser!" Genis yelled as a blade of water hit Magnius dead on.

It was enough to stun him long enough for Kratos to pushed the axe out of his way. He moved in and impaled Magnius right through his chest, but he quickly realized that in his haste, he missed all the vital areas. A rookie mistake since the first rule of war that his father taught him, always aim to kill unless ordered otherwise.

Kratos was suddenly rammed by a blast of mana that resembled a beast like form. He pulled back before Magnius could cause any more damage to him.

"You'll pay for that!" Magnius screamed as he brought his axe down and several streams of fire came rushing towards the group.

Kratos barely had time to use Guardian as he was pushed back. The heat was so intense that he immediately broke into a sweat.

"Aqua Laser!" Genis shouted as he cast another spell.

Magnius was ready this time and hit the blade of water with a blast of fire that took the shape of a lion. "Hell Hound!"

The fire was so powerful that the water completed evaporated the moment it made contact with it and the flaming attack was heading straight towards Genis. It would burn the boy alive instantly.

Before Kratos could move to save the young mage, a recovered Lloyd stepped in and pushed Genis out of the way before deflecting the spell with his swords, knocking it off course.

"What!?" Magnius exclaimed in surprise. Lloyd looked no worse for wear and his clothes had no real damage despite being hit at point blank range.

Lloyd gave a halfhearted smirk. "It will take more than fire to stop me." He really needed to thank his dad once he got home. Without his clothings, Magnius' attack would have burnt a hole right through his body.

"I see," Magnius muttered as he glanced at Raine. She was nearly worn out from all the healing she's done. "I need to take you out first, don't I?"

He slammed his axe on the floor again and several waves of flames came rushing towards Raine.

"No, Raine!" Genis screamed.

Raine barely had time to put up her Force Field, but it wasn't nearly enough. The shield cracked and broke apart completely. Raine was sent flying through the air and landed with an audio crack on the floor.

"PROFESSOR!" Lloyd yelled in horror.

"Now none of your can heal yourselves!" Magnius laughed in triumphant. "Even if we share the same blood, I won't show mercy to anyone who side with the inferior humans!"

"You'll pay for that!" Genis screamed as he ready another spell, but a jet of fire cut him off. Lloyd had to once again deflect the attack to keep Magnius from killing Genis.

"This guy is tougher than I imagine," Lloyd murmured.

He knew a Grand Cardinal would be tough, but this guy was nearly unstoppable. So far, only Kratos has managed to land any decent hits on him and even he was being overwhelmed. He was beginning to wonder if they were out of their depth.

Kratos reached into his Cruxis Crystal and he drew more power. He knew he risked blowing his identity, but he couldn't let Magnius kill the Chosen. His first and primary duty was to protect her.

Colette looked at the groups and felt so helpless as she watched everyone fight. Her attacks so far had proving ineffective against Magnius and now Raine was down. At this rate everyone was going to die because of her. If only they all were a little stronger.

She suddenly realized that she did have a way to help. She could use the powers she gained from the last seal.

She closed her eyes and began to sing. Her voice started out low, but gradually built in strength.

Magnius turned to look at her. "Is that how you want to spend your final moments, singing?"

Colette paid him no mind as she continued to sing.

"Fine by me," Magnius scoffed. "Say hello to Martel in the afterlife!" He ran in and attempted to give Colette the finishing blow. Kratos intercepted him, however.

"Don't underestimate the power of the goddess," Kratos said as he began to glow a bright red.

Magnius' eyes widen in shock as he realized that they were all glowing. Even the healer he took out earlier was standing up. "How..." he muttered in disbelief.

"This...this is the voice of the Goddess Martel," Raine said as she got back on her feet. "Holy Song."

Magnius' eyes widened even further in horror. "No..." He had completely forgotten that the Chosen would have broken the second seal by now since they left for Thoda Island days ago.

"It feels like I am overflowing with energy," Lloyd said as his aura grew stronger.

"Yeah, like I can take on two Magnius," Genis replied in awe.

Lloyd turned towards the Desian and pointed his sword at him. "Now, it's time for you pay for everything you've done."

"Like I'll be defeated by a worthless human!" Magnius yelled as he disengaged from Kratos and brought his axe down, sending another wave of fire.

Lloyd easily dodged the attack and was in Magnius' face within seconds.

"That trick is really becoming old," Lloyd mocked as his mana built-up and he hit Magnius with his own version of Beast.

"Aqua Laser!" Genis yelled as the power-up spell hit Magnius, causing him to scream in pain.

Kratos ran in for the kill and hit Magnius point blank in the gut with Super Sonic Thrust. Blood spilled everywhere as Magnius stumbled back and fall to his knees.

Lloyd was mildly surprise that Magnius was still in one piece considering what that same technique did to that Desian back at the temple.

"It's over," Kratos hissed as he looked down at the falling half-elf. He brought his sword up to take Magnius' head.

"Don't get cocky," Magnius muttered as blood spilled from his lips. "This battle is far from done!" He shot back up and raised his axe. "Blaze Temper Rush!"

He brought the axe down on Kratos, who was swiftly got out of the way. When the axe hit the floor, however, it caused a giant explosion that knocked Kratos completely off his feet. Magnius quickly raised his axe back for the finishing blow, but Lloyd charged in before the attack could land.

"Sword Rain Alpha!" Lloyd yelled as he thrust his sword several dozen times into Magnius chest and arm.

It happened so fast that Magnius didn't even feel the pain initially and the axe hit Lloyd right in his upper left shoulder. If it wasn't for his jacket, the attack would have taken Lloyd's arm cleaned off. Luckily for him, it only left a deep gash.

Still, Lloyd screamed in pain as he clutched the wound. He could feel the blood soaking his gloved hand.

Magnius attempted to move in to kill Lloyd, but his body suddenly collapsed on him. The Grand Cardinal was bleeding heavily throughout his body and he was short of breath. As hard as he tried, he couldn't will himself to stand up again.

Kratos stood up slowly as he looked over his own injures. Despite all his lectures to Lloyd about not letting your guard down, he did just that against Magnius. If Lloyd had not come in at that moment, he could had been mortally wounded or even killed. He wanted to kick himself for being so stupid.

"First Aid!" Kratos shouted as he healed Lloyd's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Lloyd answered slowly. He removed his hand from the now healed wound and winced. He knew from looking that it was going to scar despite the healing. But a scar was better than losing an arm. "Thanks, dad..."

Kratos' eyes widened. "What?"

"I was thanking dad. If it wasn't for the clothing he made me, Magnius would have killed me several times over," Lloyd explained.

Kratos closed his eyes briefly. "...Of course. Even when he isn't physically here, your father protected you." He paused for a moment. "I owe you a debt of gratitude too."

Lloyd was confused by the statement.

"You saved me from Magnius because I got careless," Kratos said before he gave a slightly bow. "Thank you, Lloyd."

Lloyd blushed before giving a cheeky smile. "I guess even the Great Kratos make mistakes."

Kratos returned the smile.

"Ugh…how?" Magnius murmured as he attempted to pull himself to his knees. Lloyd got ready for another attack, but Kratos raised his arm to stop him. There was little point. Magnius was a defeated opponent. "How could a superior half-elf like me..."

"It's because you are a fool, Magnius," Kratos informed coldly, cutting him off mid-rant as he sheathed his sword. Magnius looked up at him with hatred burning through his eyes. Kratos didn't even flinch at the glare. "Cruxis has accepted Colette as the Chosen."

All the remaining color drained from Magnius' face as he stared at Kratos in disbelief. "...What?"

"That's right," Lloyd said as he walked forward to get a better look at the defeated Grand Cardinal. "Colette is going to regenerate the world! We're not going to lose to someone like you!"

Magnius shook as the full weight of their words hit him. He had been played for a fool this entire time. "I was deceived..." he whispered before he collapsed completely to the floor.

Kratos knew by Magnius' shallow breathing that he was still alive, but that was all a moot point. He wouldn't live much longer with those injures and there was no one left to help him. It would be merciful to put him out of his misery, but Kratos was feeling far from merciful at the moment. Let Magnius suffer in his final moments, he deserved worst.

Although, Magnius' words did raise some serious alarms. Who had deceived him and why? He would have to report all of this to Mithos.

"Lloyd!" Genis yelled, catching the attention of everyone.

Magnius had left the hologram on and they could see Chocolat being taken out of the Ranch and into an awaiting prison wagon. It was obviously outside the battle range of the army since no one was there to stop them.

Chocolat looked like she had a change of heart and didn't want to be taken away. But, it was far too late and the Desian behind her cracked his whip across her back. She was then thrown harshly into the wagon and the door was locked behind her.

"Dammit," Lloyd cussed as he watched helplessly as the wagon drove away and out of the range of the hologram.

Raine knew that there was little they could do for Chocolat now. But, they could help the other prisoners who were currently trapped. She walked to the computer and entered a series of commands into the keyboard. "This should allow the people imprisoned in the Ranch to escape."

She released the trap that Neil and the others were stuck in and the Vice Govern-General quickly led the people to safety.

"What about the exspheres implanted in them?" Kratos questioned. "Without key crests, it is only a matter of time before they go out of control."

"Can't we just take the exspheres off of them?" Genis asked.

Kratos quickly shook his head. "It's too dangerous to attempt to remove an exsphere without a key crest." He glanced at Lloyd, who was still staring absently at the hologram. "I would imagine only a dwarf could handle it."

Lloyd didn't seem to get the message, but Colette did. "Then we can ask Dirk to do it."

"Yeah...let's contact my dad," Lloyd spoke numbly. Obviously, what happened to Chocolat still weighed heavily on his mind.

Raine began to typed more commands into the computer. "We can work out the details later. Right now, I'm going to program this place to self-destruct."

Everyone looked at Raine in surprise.

"Are you serious!?" Lloyd exclaimed in shock.

Kratos had to give the Professor credit. She left nothing to chance. The lost of the Ranch was annoying, but he was certain Mithos would understand given what happened.

"Raine, if you do that..." Genis started.

"At the very least, we'll deal a major blow to the Desians' stranglehold over this region," Raine cut off as she finished hacking the code. "If we're going to strike them, it should be thorough and decisive."

Genis stared at his sister for a moment. "Raine..."

"Remember, Genis," Raine said as she looked directly at her brother. Her expression was unreadable, "we're not like them." She put in the final code and the entire room turned red. "I've set the self-destruct timer for twenty minutes. Let's hurry and evacuate."

Without another word, they rushed out of the control room.

A few minutes later, Magnius regained consciousness.

It didn't take him long to realized what the Chosen's group had done. He was far too weak to reach the transporter and his men would know to evacuate immediately. There was nothing that could be done to save himself.

"I must inform Forcystus..." Magnius mumbled as he crawled towards the computer. He may be unable to save himself, but he could at least warned Forcystus of Rodyle's deception. Forcystus was more than strong enough to kill that traitorous bastard.

Before he could reach the computer, the hologram turned on. Magnius let out a low growl when he saw the cocky smirk of Rodyle staring down at him.

"I have a slight problem with you contacting Lord Forcystus," Rodyle stated calmly. "He'd realized what I'm trying to do."

"Rodyle, you tricked me!" Magnius yelled with his remaining strength. "There was no order to eliminate the Chosen!"

Rodyle laughed at him. "Collecting gald for me, attempting to eliminate the Chosen for me, you've been quite useful, Magnius."

"They'll get you..." Magnius sneered in a fading voice. "Forcystus and Lord Yggdrasill will have your head."

"By the time Yggdrasill knows anything, it will be far too late," Rodyle bragged. "Farewell, Lord Magnius. I hope you enjoy the afterlife." He laughed one final time as the hologram shut off.

"DAMN YOU!" Magnius screamed as he fall back to the floor. He felt his vision fading as darkness came to claim him for the final time. Rodyle wouldn't win. They were too close to the new age for him to stop it. He may not see it, but at least his fellow half-elves would no longer live under the iron rule of humans. "Lord Yggdrasill...glory...to the coming Age of Half-Elves..."

His eyes closed for the last time and took peace that the new age would soon come.

And that is the end of Magnius.

I actually enjoyed writing him and I hope you guys liked him too, especially his epic battle against Lloyd and the others. After so long, we are almost done with the Palmacosta story arc. It seems like forever given the long break that I took and it still too several weeks to finish. Still, I hold no regrets since this is one of my favorite parts in the game.

Until next chapter.